Sebastopol Shines Light on Energy Efficiency

The small resort town of Sebastopol (Sonoma County) best known for its art, food, and wine can now add energy efficiency to its acclaim.

Thanks to federal stimulus funds, Sebastopol City Plaza is glowing with new, energy efficient lights. 20 streetlights within the city plaza were switched to Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. LED lights use less energy and are longer lasting.

By switching to energy-efficient lighting, Sebastopol will save 475 kilowatt hours or $1,234 in annual energy costs and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 0.186 tons every year.

The project, completed in May, was funded by a $35,701 grant administered by the California Energy Commission from the US Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Program (EECBG) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

As of January 2012, nearly $270 million in ECAA loans to local governments, public schools and hospitals, public care institutions and other agencies have been allocated to more than 750 recipients. For more information on the ECAA loan program, visit: http://www.energy.ca.gov/efficiency/financing/.

The California Energy Commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency. Created by the Legislature in 1974 and located in Sacramento, six basic responsibilities guide the Energy Commission as it sets state energy policy: forecasting future energy needs; licensing thermal power plants 50 megawatts or larger; promoting energy efficiency and conservation by setting the state's appliance and building efficiency standards; supporting public interest energy research that advances energy science and technology